(5 of 6)
Indeed, concern for function over form is advisable. The federal gravy train is slowing down. The Reagan Administration, which is cool to mass transit, initially declared a ban on funding for new rail systems and sought to phase out operating assistance by 1985. Pork-barrel-hungry Congressmen, however, objected to both moves. With the passage of the 5¢-per-gal. gasoline tax, and its one penny for mass transit, the Administration agreed to lift the ban. But Reagan did persuade Congress to whittle operating subsidies by 21%, and in this fiscal year alone won an overall $400 million cut in capital spending. The gas tax raised $779 million for mass transit in its first year, and is projected to produce about $1.1 billion annually. But only about $400 million will be earmarked for mass transit. The competition for the dwindling dollars will be fierce. "If a system can pay for itself, that will enhance its chances," advises Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) Chief Ralph Stanley.
Cost considerations are giving some localities pause. Last summer Houston voters resoundingly rejected a $2.35 billion bond issue for mass transit, despite the fact that it would have meant no new taxes for the first leg. As a result, the city lost all but $5.5 million of the $110 million in federal aid it had been allocated from the gas-tax fund, and its proposed 18-mile heavy-rail system appears to be on permanent hold. "It's a humbling experience to take a licking like we did," admits Alan Kiepper, general manager of Houston's Metropolitan Transit Authority. Houstonians were simply unconvinced that a costly rail line was the answer to their legendary traffic jams. The defeat was also a protest against the highhanded attitude of the local transit board, which had purchased $139 million worth of Japanese rail cars three months before the bond-issue vote.
By looking to the past, at least one town has validated Reagan's philosophy of local self-reliance: San Diego. When the city's 16-mile line of trolleys was completed in 1981, it was on schedule, under budget and funded entirely from state gas and sales taxes.* Dubbed the "Tijuana Trolley" because the line ends 100 ft. from the Mexican border, the bright red streetcars have attracted 4,000 more riders per day than originally projected. Fares, which can go as high as $1 for a full-run ride and are collected on an honor system, cover a remarkable 80% of operating costs. Says Dick Murphy, chairman of San Diego's Metropolitan Transit Development Board: "Give people a system that is reliable, frequent and reasonable, and they will jump on board."
The trolley's triumph has inspired nostalgic visions. New York City is considering restoring trolley service as part of its redevelopment of 42nd Street. San Francisco is overhauling its emblematic fleet of cable cars.
Despite the scramble for new systems, the benefits of mass transit are not always clear. In San Francisco, BART has not appreciably shortened the rush hour. The record for turning blighted downtowns into boom towns is equally spotty. Although citizens may live in apartment complexes clustered around new subway stops, they are no more likely to go to the center city to shop than to a nearby suburban shopping mall.
But transit, like a football team or a domed stadium, bolsters civic pride.